Metacritic #1 Game Publisher in 2023 Is Capcom

Just like in 2019, Capcom has won the annual game publisher ranking on Metacritic. But how did publishers from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Europe fare?

Which publishers released the best games in 2023? This question is answered by Metacritic's annual game publisher ranking, now in its 14th year. Capcom has won this year's ranking based on the games it released in 2023.

“Finishing at #1 for the first time since the 2019 edition of our annual Game Publisher Rankings, Capcom benefitted from the massive critical acclaim for its latest Resident Evil remake. But the publisher also released two other 90+ games in Street Fighter 6 and Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective and many more in the 80-89 range. The company's lone 2023 disappointment? Exoprimal, a welcome, if ultimately lackluster, attempt to launch a new IP”, says Metacritic. Raw Fury from Sweden came second, followed by Chorus Worldwide, which helps Western companies succeed in Asia.

Sales and user reviews are not taken into account in these rankings; only critics' reviews are used as a measure of performance. Only publishers with five or more different titles released in the last year are included in our rankings. Mobile games are excluded. Publishers are ranked on a scoring system based on four factors: average Metascore for all games released in 2023, percentage of reviewed products with good reviews, percentage of reviewed products with poor reviews, and number of "great" titles. There are 45 places in the ranking.

Metacritic Annual Game Publisher Rankings 2024

1.) Capcom
2.) Raw Fury
3.) Chorus Worldwide
4.) Dangen Entertainment
5.) Annapurna Interactive
6.) Nintendo
7.) Aksys Games
8.) Bethesda Softworks
9.) Sega
10.) Thunderful
13.) Sony Interactive Entertainment
15.) Microsoft
16.) Team17 includes astragon tied position with Electronic Arts
18.) Focus Entertainment
19.) Square Enix
23.) Ubisoft
24.) United Games Entertainment includes Inin Games
25.) Frontier Foundry/Developments tied position with Take-Two Interactive
27.) Bandai Namco
28.) Plug In Digital
30.) Outright Games
32.) Plaion
33.) THQ Nordic includes HandyGames
35.) PQube
38.) 505 Games
43.) Nacon includes Daedalic Entertainment
45.) Microids

Previous Metacritic Annual Game Publisher Ranking winners

2023: Sony
2022: Microsoft
2021: Sega
2020: 505 Games
2019: Capcom
2018: Bethesda Softworks
2017: Electronic Arts
2016: Sega
2015: Nintendo
2014: Take-Two Interactive
2013: Electronic Arts
2012: Microsoft
2011: Take-Two Interactive